2025: Fox News Dominates All Cable Channels

In 2025, a non-election year following the high-viewership 2024 cycle, Fox News Channel overwhelmingly dominated cable news ratings, delivering its highest-rated non-election year in history and frequently outperforming broadcast networks in primetime viewership.
Primetime averages: 

• Fox News averaged around 2.72 million total viewers (up 14% from 2024) and 287,000 in the key Adults 25-54 demographic.
• Fox often ranked as one of the top networks across all television, occasionally surpassing NBC, ABC, or CBS on weekdays.
• Competitors experienced significant post-election declines.

MSNBC (rebranded to MS NOW mid-year) and CNN saw sharp drops, particularly in the advertiser-coveted demo.

Ratings Graphics Courtesy of RoadMN

Fox News swept the top 12 most-watched cable news programs in total viewers for 2025, marking a historic non-election year with record-breaking dominance and frequent outperformance against broadcast networks.

Leading the pack was The Five at 5 p.m. ET, averaging 4.1 million viewers—its highest ever—and claiming the No. 1 spot for the fourth straight year as the most-watched cable news show.

Jesse Watters Primetime (8 p.m. ET) followed closely with 3.6 million viewers, emerging as the top-rated program in primetime cable news.Hannity (9 p.m. ET) averaged 3.2 million viewers, while Special Report with Bret Baier drew over 3.1 million, and The Ingraham Angle (7 p.m. ET) hit 3 million, making Laura Ingraham the highest-rated female host in cable news.

Gutfeld! (10 p.m. ET) also posted strong numbers, delivering record demo performance and outdrawing major broadcast late-night shows.

The full top 12 included:

• The Will Cain Show
• Outnumbered
• The Faulkner Focus
• America’s Newsroom
• The Story with Martha MacCallum
• America Reports

Fox News aired the top 1,080 cable news telecasts of the year, with many programs posting double-digit year-over-year growth. This lineup fueled the network's overall primetime average of 2.72 million viewers (up 14% from 2024), solidifying its unrivaled leadership in cable news.

The network also achieved record YouTube views (4.3 billion, up 57% from 2024).While all networks faced overall viewership softness compared to the 2024 election year, Fox News bucked the trend with gains or smaller losses, solidifying its position as the clear leader in cable news.